We were planning on getting DD a dollhouse for Christmas, but yesterday she asked if she could have an American Girl doll instead (it would be a knockoff unless I could find a reasonably priced used one). I'm a little reluctant to get her another doll because she has a Bitty Baby that she hasn't played with much in almost two years. But she also has a very small dollhouse (two rooms) that she doesn't play with much either. She plays with the much larger dollhouse at my parents' house a ton when she's there, so I think she'll play with a dollhouse that's larger and has more furniture more than she plays with her current one. I hope...

Anyway, would you go with a dollhouse or an American Girl type doll for a 7 YO?
The dollhouse we got is a kit that has much thicker wood than the thin balsam wood traditionally used for dollhouses, so it should hold up better to her brothers than a traditional one would.

I got my 6 1/2 year old an American girl doll. She hit bitty baby 2 years ago and loved her but is also losing interest. I hope she plays a lot with the new doll. She said shed pass bitty baby down to her sissy if she got the new one lol

I have a 7 year old and my vote would be for the american girl. They are very different from the bitties (IMO) and at my house get much more play. A great gift would be an AG doll and a cheap pink tupperware thingie from walmart full of small doll sized hair accessories. You can get a metal bristle hairbrush from sally beauty supply if you don't want to buy the AG one.

The good thing about AG dolls is that you can always add on to the gift in the future by picking up lots of fun accessories for play at walmart and target (my dds favorite is the baking set from target). Ikea beds also make perfect beds for AG dolls for only $20.

Check craigslist or ebay for deals. If you think she'll enjoy dollhouse play, get her some polly pockets for her current smaller size dollhouse. These are what my girls play with ALL the time

Both would be excellent gifts - I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

An AG doll is not really comparable to a bitty baby doll to a 7 yr old. The doll is a 'grown up' girl like them. They play totally different with them than a baby doll. If your dd would want to do stuff with the hair - save your money and get it for her in a year (or whenever) when you can get a real one. The knock offs have terrible hair. But a knock off is a great way to judge if your dd will really play with a doll like that before making a big investment. We got dd1 a knock off first to see if she'd really play with it and if she'd play nice with it. She was very gentle with the doll but within a month I had to braid the hair and we never touched it again so dd couldn't brush the hair anymore. She didn't care - not her thing. Dd2 loves to brush dd1's dolls hair though.

Dd1 (who is 8) also loves to play with a small dollhouse (like calico critter size house) but she's always preferred small people to big ones. (she plays with squinkies more than barbies). While dd2 likes barbies better than the smaller people. So the kind of dollhouse you get kind of depends on the kid. Your dd sounds like she plays better with a big dollhouse. Dd1 is 8 and shows no signs of being done playing with a dollhouse type toy.

So that was a long post to say your dd would be happy with either toy.

I have a 7 year old and my vote would be for the american girl. They are very different from the bitties (IMO) and at my house get much more play. A great gift would be an AG doll and a cheap pink tupperware thingie from walmart full of small doll sized hair accessories. You can get a metal bristle hairbrush from sally beauty supply if you don't want to buy the AG one.

The good thing about AG dolls is that you can always add on to the gift in the future by picking up lots of fun accessories for play at walmart and target (my dds favorite is the baking set from target). Ikea beds also make perfect beds for AG dolls for only $20.

Check craigslist or ebay for deals. If you think she'll enjoy dollhouse play, get her some polly pockets for her current smaller size dollhouse. These are what my girls play with ALL the time

Any small metal bristle brush works? I forgot to add the brush to my order ;/